Denying Reality
by WeasleyLover871
Summary: Dreamers have to be aware of the people they will be sharing their dreams with. Cobb's team knows this well, from experience. But when they are asked to help the FBI in a dangerous inception mission, are they ready for the BAU profilers demons to surface
1. Of Devils and Demons

**Denying Reality**

**Of Devils and Demons**

_Dreaming is an act of pure imagination, attesting in all men a creative power, which if it were available in waking, would make every man a Dante or Shakespeare. - H.F. Hedge_

"I'm not sure if I trust this Dom."

Arthur was sitting across from his best friend and long time partner. They were each sporting professional looking suits and matching drinks: bourbon over ice. It had been a long and confusing week.

For some stupid reason, the old 'Dream Team' (as Eames' had joked once) accepted one final job from the last client they ever thought possible. The Behaviour Analysis Unit located in Quantico, Virgin. Yes, Quantico. And anyone who was at all learned knew what that meant. FBI.

"Ignoring the fact that they are paying us to perform highly illegal activities," Arthur continued, before he was interrupted by a man leaning himself back on a barstool, directly in front of the two seated at the table. He jumped off and skilfully, whilst holding his beer in one hand, lifted and turned a chair from another table with his other hand and finally sat down, straddling the seat backwards.

"Arthur, darling. Either way, there is no use in bothering yourself with worrying about this. We have no choice in the matter really. Do you actually think denying the feds would do us any good?" Eames injected, taking a long swig from his beer and turning his head to Cobb to see his response. Yet it was Arthur who responded.

"I really could care less whether you think it appropriate or not for me to worry. And despite the fact that we couldn't deny this job even if we wanted to, does it not bother you slightly that we are going to be delving into a mind that is dangerous and more corrupt then we have ever dared to fathom?"

At this statement, Cobb finally glanced up from his glass and revealed what he was thinking about the whole situation. He was trying to keep his resolve. Dom had never wanted to be apart of extraction, inception, or any kind of mind manipulation again. He had finished his last job two years ago and finally had his family back.

He wasn't going to lie to himself though. The love for the dream world was still there, and once a month, his old team and himself had messed around in each other's heads, exploring and sharpening their skills. It was harmless and recreational, as well as educational. But they had agreed a long time ago; after such an intense driven mission, they had retired wealthy and content men and women.

Although, Yusuf and Ariadne aided other extractors with their respective skills, architecture and chemical compounds, from time to time. Yet, they never went under again, with any intent to steal or any other involvement of an illegal nature.

"Even though Eames is right," Cobb began, pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and fore finger, "I can't help but worry as well Arthur. And I'm not sure any of us are going to realize how damaging this mission will be, until we actually have to experience it."

Arthur nodded his head slowly, exhaling deeply. Eames nervously took another gulp of his drink and excused himself to go grab another from the bar. Dom knew he had to protect his team from what they were going to have to endure, but a part of him didn't know how he was supposed to protect himself.

"I do know one thing. Ariadne does not need to go under this time with us. I don't think she should have to see the kinds of things we are going to have to witness." Arthur said with a hint of fear. Before Cobb could respond, a short and petite brunette woman came up from behind and gave both of the men a start.

"With all do respect, I think _Ariadne_ can decide what she can and cannot handle. If you can do it, I can do it Arthur."

* * *

"The time it actually takes for the light to travel to our earth, to our actual line of vision, is at a much later time then the actual light beam itself. So in all actuality, the stars we look at in the night sky could actual be burnt out by now. It's the closest thing we have to time travel – seeing into the past."

Dr. Spencer Reid was sitting on top of Derek Morgan's desk, lazily playing with a pencil between his fingers and absently trailing on about something or other. Derek slowly nodded while reading over some paper work, pretending to be interested.

Suddenly, noticed by both men, JJ began walking towards the desk, and signalled to the briefing room once she noticed their eyes looking her way.

"Saved by the bell." Morgan mumbled under his breath, quietly enough so not to hurt Reid's feelings.

Emily Prentiss, a fellow agent, laughed as she walked past her colleagues. She had been listening into the conversation from her desk, slightly interested, but mostly amused.

"If you keep at him like that Spencer, he's bound to retain a fact or two by the end of this year." She joked, poking Derek in his side while winking at the confused genius.

"Keeping at him like what?" He asked raising his eyebrows, innocently and slightly nervous. For a genius, Reid had a small issue with keeping up with social jokes and norms.

Luckily enough, before anyone had to explain to the young agent, they had made it to the room and took their usual seats around the round table, ready to be filled in on their next task.

The rest of the team was already seated, including their tech analysist, Penelope Garcia. Usually, when she was asked to come to the briefing meetings, they knew they were dealing with someone particularly heinous.

"Hey Baby Girl, looks like you're joining us for this one." Derek flirted, giving Garcia a wink and a reassuring pat on her shoulder. Yet, he could tell right away that she knew more than he did, because her eyes were filled with a serious look of fear… and a hint of excitement. The fear was natural, yet usually more subdued. But the excitement… that was never something Penelope would feel when it came to their line of work.

An older looking man, who went by the name David Rossi, gave Garcia a once over before speaking up.

"Now that's a look we don't see on you everyday. Well not when it comes to non-recreational work habits you partake in here. What's up?" Rossi questioned, slightly humoured at her growing uncomfortable stance.

"They never warned me about how evil you mind readers were going to be when they offered me this job." She piped up in a dignified manner, sticking out her tongue at both Rossi and Morgan.

"I thought you told me that it was more of an ultimatum. Like… take the job or rot in prison." JJ laughed. Garcia and JJ were close friends, since they were the only 'non-profilers' on the team. It gave them a special kind of bond.

"Well remind me next time not to offer you my favourite pen when yours explodes in your jacket pocket Miss. Know-It-All." Penelope quickly shot back, with a small smile playing at the corners of her mouth.

But before there were anymore playful arguments, the final member of the team, and boss, stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. Everyone quieted themselves and turned to face him. Again, since they were all skilled enough profilers, they could tell Agent Aaron Hotchner's demeanour was anything but normal.

"JJ, brief them on Jake Spagelli." He spoke strong and forceful, and to anyone who didn't know him, Hotch would have been viewed as the utmost of intimidation.

"But Hotch, I've been keeping up with Spagelli. We had to leave D.C. because there was nothing we could do, and there hasn't been any new evidence or witnesses." Spencer spoke up, whilst getting nods and sounds of agreement from the rest of his team.

"We all know that Spagelli is a dead end… by our means and the police task force." Hotch stated simply, yet ominously. Garcia's eyes flashed with the same look of mixed emotions again, and Derek noticed, but was interrupted by JJ beginning her briefing at Hotch's signal.

"Eight women were found within the city of D.C. raped and brutally beaten. They were all in their late 20's to early 30's. They also were all white skinned and brunettes. The first five women were killed over a span of five years, averaging one a year. But the last three were killed within a time frame of six months. This is why we were called in three months ago. They feared the unSub to strike again and soon."

JJ began to click the button on her laptop and pictures of the eight different women popped up. First, them alive and well. Second, them beaten yet alive. And finally, them obviously not alive anymore, and buried in damp forest ground.

"Like always, he kept them for the same amount of time. Four days. On the second day, like clockwork, he would send photos and/or video to the family or loved ones of the abducted women. Like you've all seen, and you can see now, they were pictures of them still alive and being tortured or shots of their broken bodies. He would then demand a ransom." JJ continued to speak until she was interrupted.

"Yet he just enjoyed giving the family hope to rip it out from under them again, because two days later he would give them directions to the site in which he buried the young women. We know all this. Why are we replaying the same information we were briefed upon only a few months ago." Morgan spoke up, obviously a little irritated with the seemingly waste of time. Hotch gave him a stern look, yet by this point others were questioning what was going on as well.

"And we know who the guy is! So unless we have any new evidence linking Jake Spagelli to the murders we all know he did, what are we doing? Or did we guess the wrong guy?" Prentiss added. Reid shook his head, in doubt of their mistake, and also in doubt of any new evidence that he wouldn't have heard about already. He was keeping close contact with the police force about this case.

"Neither." Garcia slipped out. She quickly slapped her hand over her mouth before looking to Hotchner apologetically. He sighed in resignation before signalling JJ to turn off the clips.

"I just wanted you to be briefed again, to make sure all the information is fresh. You are going to have to study this case again like you did when we were first assigned to it." Hotch finally said, before running his hand through his hair. "We have a new method to find Spagelli guilty."

The whole group went silent, waiting for Hotch to let them know what this new method was. Of course, except for Garcia. The rest of the crew was entirely stumped. They went about every way they could to get Spagelli to give up information, yet they came to realize that he was a pathological liar and a complete psychopath, not to mention highly intelligent. Thus, he knew there was nothing linking him to his crimes, and he only gave them lies to throw them off and confuse them even further.

But even though there was no physical evidence linking Spagelli to the crimes, they all were one hundred percent certain that he was the unSub. There was no doubt in their minds whatsoever.

"Well what is the new method Hotch and why are you being so secretive about it." Rossi asked, raising one of his eyebrows in a questioning manner.

"I trust my life, my family, and my future to this team. And I know you do the same for me and this team in return. Yet, what I am going to ask of you is beyond sacrifice and duty. So please understand, no one is obligated, no matter what Strauss says, to go through with this assignment if they don't feel comfortable or safe doing it." Hotch held his nerves in quite gracefully, only once slipping up by swallowing a little too hard between sentences.

"I think I speak for the whole team when I say, we are with you no matter what, one hundred and fifty percent." Morgan said with strength and conviction, eyeing everyone at the table which prompted very self-assured nods. No one would doubt Hotch, or his morals.

"Well, I'd advise you to wait until you hear how illegal this will be before you sell your souls to the devil." Garcia accidentally let slip again, mimicking her previous actions of slapping her hand to her mouth.

* * *

"This stuff is absolutely grotesque. Why would anyone willingly deal with these kinds of vile people?" Eames muttered to himself, looking over the folders of pictures and police reports.

The whole group was sitting in a hotel room, trying to learn as much as they could about the up and coming mission before they set off for Virginia in a few hours.

"Well someone has to do it." Yusuf muttered back, half reading, half day dreaming about less disgusting things to keep his mind saner.

Both he and Eames were sitting at a desk together in the corner of the room, while Cobb occupied the couch on the adjacent side. Arthur was sitting at the corner of the queen bed, with his legs crossed and a folder balancing on his knee, while Ari was lying on her stomach on the ground, with papers spread out all around her.

"It really makes you wonder how the inner workings of his subconscious could vary from someone of our nature." Arthur said absent minded, not really paying attention to anyone else, other then peaking occasional glances at Ariadne when he heard her breathing hitch or a small gasp escape.

"I think I'm content with not knowing about this monster's subconscious." She said quietly to herself, so no one could hear. She didn't want them to doubt her ability to distance herself from the gruesome details and focus on the job at hand. Especially when it was such an important job.

"You know," Cobbs spoke up, putting down his folders and reaching down to his suitcase to rummage in it for something else, "I think we should take a break from this man and focus on a few of the other's we are going to have to associate with. We need to know who we will be working with if we want to make this mission go as smoothly as possible. Especially since most, if not all of them, will be coming under with us."

Everyone agreed with various nods and grunts of approval, knowing how important it was to know what the other dreamer's could be bringing into the project. Cobb, of all people, knew the dangers of an untamed subconscious.

"Well, it seems the resident techy on the team, and the girl who works with the press are the least important. Well at least when it comes to our job. They aren't the profilers. So we won't have to know too much about them." Cobb began, pulling out more folders that he finally found them from his suitcase. He began to toss a different one to each member on his team.

They all took about ten minutes to read their information before Cobb finally spoke up again. "Yusuf, who do you have?"

"Special Agent David Rossi, Cobb." Yusuf began, scanning over the information quickly before summarizing. "There isn't too much that seems to be a potential risk. He's a noted profiler. He's been in the business since it began picking up, and he retired quite a few years back, but came out of retirement when this BAU team needed him. It says there was some unsolved cases that caused him some emotional turmoil, but in the past few years, he's gained some closure in that respect. Nothing too damaging."

"Remember, we don't know how damaged these psyches might be. They have seen horrid things and probably experienced countless traumas. They have been in this field for a long time, and that doesn't include their jobs before. Don't underestimate the possibility of demons hidden as simple experiences." Cobb warned before giving Eames a nod, signalling to him that it was his turn to read.

"I've got a nice looking young woman by the name Emily Prentiss. She had some weird relationship with someone who had been murdered a few years back. It did some damage for sure. Some religious views that conflicted with her job and experiences that may have caused some trauma. She's quite new to the team though, and she wasn't in any profession like this before, so she might be a safer bet when it comes to our bait idea that we talked about earlier. She also fits the killer's kind." Eames finished, yet he shuddered inwardly at what he said by the end. He suddenly didn't feel all too comfortable with the possible plans they had tossed around, to succeed with the job.

Especially when there was a face he could put the 'bait' to.

Arthur began to speak up next, knowing that Cobb was getting around the room to him anyway. "I've got Special Agent Derek Morgan. There is a lot that could cause issues, so I'll outline them briefly yet I'll make sure to delve into them deeper later. He was molested as a child by a man who had been murdering some children as well. He was accused for these murders during his time with the team, but his they helped catch the real killer. His father was a cop, and killed in the line of duty in front of his eyes. He has a bad habit of being hot headed and jumping into situations without proper procedure. He also looks to get personally connected to a lot of cases, sometimes too much. It can be assumed that he has some real emotional damage done."

"I can't believe the things these poor people have gone through." Ari said solemnly. They could tell that who she had read was effected strongly as well. "I have a young man only a few years older than me. His name is Dr. Spencer Reid. They call him Dr. because he has three Doctorates and is working on a fourth. He is certifiably a genius. Yet, he is only in his mid twenties, and has had a horrible upbringing. A father who left him, a mother who is in a mental institution for schizophrenia, and an abusive childhood when it came to bullying. Since he's been in the BAU, he was abducted by a schizophrenic killer, held hostage for days, tortured, and kept on drugs. After he was saved, he had a drug issue for a little while but is now clean. As far as I can tell, he's a little socially awkward as well, which sometimes can hinder his judgement or affect him strongly with cases. That's about all I got right now."

Everyone was quiet for a minute or so after Ariande had finished her reveal of the young genius. Not only were they saddened by the lives these people had had to live, but they were selfishly worrying about what they had gotten themselves into. And at the moment, only Cobb knew of the final member of the team, who had a can of worms he would be bringing to the table as well.

"Aaron Hotchner is the leader of their team. Without saying much, I will say he may have some extremely violent demons. A psychopathic killer, who had a vendetta against the man, murdered his wife whilst on the phone with him. Luckily, their son had hid long enough for Hotchner to get to the scene, and it was then that he beat the man to death with his bare hands. There is no doubt that he will feel guilt for his wife's death, so lets all prey that we have no issues with this… since we all know how damaging it could be." Cobb slowly closed the folder and inhaled a deep and wrecking breath.

Memories of Mal flooded through his brain, and he only wished that this Aaron Hotchner had forgiven himself like Cobb had to do, or this was going to be worse then he ever imagined.

**So, let me know if you guys like it enough to continue reading it. I'll try to update as soon as possible. **


	2. Of Hotch's and Cobb's

**First off, I'd like to apologize. My life has been crazy hectic, like you have probably read before on a million author's notes when those unreliable jerks leave you hanging for months.. and I am really sorry that I am one of them. I was sure that I'd be a frequent updater, but of course applying to Universities and beginning my own fantasy novel sort of got in the way. But, after receiving all the reviews, even after months, and finally getting an inbox from WallofWeird, asking me when I was going to update… my guilt took over and I finally decided to get this story situated. ****I've done a lot of research to try and make it the most realistic, and I've done a rough outline of the whole story so I hope (HOPE) I will be updated more. At least more than one chapter in like 6 months.**

So everyone should thank WALLOFWEIRD for this chapter. And yourselves of course! 

**Anyway, on with the chapter. **

**Of Hotch's and Cobbs's**

_When we are dreaming alone it is only a dream. When we are dreaming with others, it is the beginning of reality - Dom Helder Camara_

They all sat across a large rectangular table in one of the many briefing rooms at FBI headquarters. Hotchner's team sat silent, waiting for some kind of recognition from the curious group of individuals across from him. The other team arrived to the briefing room earlier than themselves. He found them all with their noses in files filled with who knows what. Out of sheer politeness, he decided to signal to his team to sit down before interrupting them, hoping it would prompt the others to look up from their pages and address them. Only one did, the oldest looking man, and he nodded in acknowledgement before going back to his readings.

After five minutes of nothing, Garcia was slightly annoyed by the lack of introductions.

"Hello, is anyone home?" She jabbed with some venom in her voice, but masked the obvious anger with a smile.

Cobb and his team looked up all at the same time and put down their file folders, which seemed to be filled with nothing. A man with an English accent spoke up first.

"Well it's good to know that the most impatient and shortest tempered isn't one of the blokes coming under with us." He smirked and winked at the confused and slightly disappointed techy.

"Does that mean you won't let me do a little test run with one of my dreams?" She said as she stuck out her bottom lip before turning to Derek and blowing him a kiss. He pretended to catch it before laughing in return.

"And here I thought that fun loving fellow over there would be the most short-tempered too. It seems our information was slightly flawed." Eames spoke up again, as he dishearteningly handed a five dollar bill over to one of his team members. Derek glared roughly at him, which prompted Eames to quickly pull his hand back with the money in it.

"That's not fair" the slight built, dark haired girl complained. "Just because he has some anger issues too doesn't mean you weren't wrong about him acting out first. Give me the money Eames." Ari leaned over Arthur to try to swipe it out of his hand whilst Eames just played with her like a cat and string.

Rossi looked over at his senior, Hotch, with a look of utter confusion. Hotch returned the same dumbfounded expression. These were supposed to be the "highly trained and intelligent" group of individuals that would be working with them on one of the most dangerous tasks they probably would have to partake in. So far, they were proving to be quite disorganized. He thought it was about time for him to take charge of the situation.

"Excuse me, but I'd like to introduce my team to you and if you can do the same in return that would be much appreciated." He interjected in a diplomatic manner. "My name is Aaron Hotchner, I am the chief of this team thus if you have any concerns or issues, you are free to come to me." He then began to point around the table to each one of the team members as he said each introduction.

"This is SSA David Rossi, SSA Derek Morgan, SSA Emily Prentiss, Dr. Spencer Reid, FBI technical analyst Penelope Garcia and FBI media liaison Jennifer Jereau."

As Hotch introduced his team, Cobb took in the way they were all reacting. He could tell they had a very strong bond with each other, and a lot of respect for their boss. Even after Morgan was obviously angered by Eames riling him up, as soon as Hotchner opened his mouth, he straightened up and became professional once again. This was both a good and a bad thing. It meant they will work like one cohesive unit, and they will take orders and direction quite well – but it also meant that the team could fall apart easier if there were any falters by the leader – which as Cobb knew, was a critical risk.

"Thank you very much. I'll introduce myself first and then allow my team to introduce themselves. I doubt they wouldn't talk over me otherwise." Cobb said smiling as he shared a knowing look with Arthur before looked over to Eames.

"I resent that." He uttered before learning back on his chair. Eames quickly then pulled Arthur's chair back to scare him but it had no effect.

"Like a little boy you are. You don't think I'd be used to that by now?" Arthur pointedly said in response to the attempt of sabotage. He didn't even smile or change his expression and continued to look straight forward at the opposing team in front of him.

Cobb took the time to get back on track. "My name is Dom Cobb. I am the acting chief of this team, but ask you can see, it's not exactly working. But I would like to stress that I also extend the same courtesy of being there for any and all questions or concerns. If I'm not around, look for Arthur."

Arthur sat up straight and addressed the others with dignity and professionalism. "Yes, I'll be able to help as much as possible. As Cobb has said, my name is Arthur. I'm the point man on this team – which means, even though Dom is the main planner, I take care of the details, do the research, and make sure everything goes smoothly"

The FBI agents felt slightly more at ease seeing a more professional team member.

"My name is Ariadne – you can call me Ari. I'm the architect on the team. The guys think they know more then me, but you can come to me too." She shot Arthur an indignant look before playfully jabbing him on his leg under the table. He jerked slightly before flushing and collecting his composure again.

"My name is Eames, you can call me Eames – and I'd rather enjoy you not to come to me unless it's about going to grab a drink or letting me know its break time." He smirked and winked at Emily before jabbing Arthur on his other leg under the table too, giving him another start.

"Quit it you immature jack—"

"Oh Artie, watch your language." Eames quickly interrupted. "Bugger."

"Okay enough guys, this is getting ridiculous." Cobb said with a little more force this time. They both sat back quietly to let the introductions finish. Cobb nodded at the man to his left.

"I'm Yusuf. I am the chemist on this team so I will be able to help with anything to do with the drugs and sedatives we will be using. Other than that, I'm not going to be too active in the mission." He gave a kind smile before settling back into his chair to get comfortable.

After a few awkward seconds of silence, Garcia finally spoke up. She was finding them all quite amusing, but really wanted to know more about their line of work.

"So, how does this work exactly." She said with her eyes wide and a real sense of curiosity in her voice.

But before any of them got to answer her question, Morgan spoke up.

"I don't know why Strauss would believe this… you really don't this is even a possibility do you?" Morgan spoke to Hotch in a hushed tone, but everyone could hear him. Prentiss and Rossi both obviously had the same issues and doubt with the whole idea as well and looked at Hotch for some kind of explanation.

"Oh the non-believers. I used to be one." Ari said quietly with humour in her voice.

"You know, it sounds absolutely ridiculous in our minds because we see dreams as simply that – not reality. But there are many great minds who have delved into this idea if we go back into the findings of many philosophers. Descartes' work starts to question our perception of reality and the connection, or disconnection, with our dreams. He even realized in his Meditations on First Philosophy that he cannot fully be sure that he is ever awake, because even when in dreams – no matter how obscure, his senses and mind deceives him into believing he is awake or in a form of reality then. The lines have always been extremely blurred when defining or understanding that particular field of thought, not to mention the constant un-answered questions in relation to the subconscious of human kind. The brain is something that we eventually end up accepting as limitless and a complete mystery."

Everyone eyes were now on Dr. Spencer Reid, although Cobb's team had a look of utter confusion and awe, whilst Hotch's just looked humoured or bored. Arthur spoke first.

"All that is very true, especially the part about the ignorance of knowledge about the brain. Not to mention the fact that we can only access ten percent of it."

"Well actually that's not true. There is no psychical research to prove that idea. It is quite the contrary. There is a copious amount of evidence from clinical neurology that indicates that for the most part people use the majority of their brains whilst both awake and asleep. Brain imaging has revealed that more than 60 percent of our brain is active for the duration of REM sleep, or Rapid Eye Movement, when we are dreaming."

Eames couldn't help but burst into laughter. Reid flushed with embarrassment whilst Arthur looked at him in awe.

"I didn't ever think I'd meet someone smarter than Arthur." Eames choked out as he calmed down.

"Eames quiet down and don't be so rude." Cobb said as he glared down the table. He didn't want the FBI agents to think that they were going to be made fun of or disrespected so blatantly.

"I'd be more embarrassed if I were you, since you can barely spell and don't know how to multiply." Arthur spat at him before looking kindly to Spencer. "Dr. Reid is a strong asset to his team obviously and I don't think it will take much convincing to replace you with him if given the chance."

Spencer smiled at Arthur while Emily reached over to give him a pat on the back before opening her mouth. "I think you owe Reid an apology, and I think you'd want to tread lightly from now on, since disrespected an FBI agent isn't going to bode well for you here."

Eames looked slightly ashamed. Now that he looked over at the young Reid, he felt like he was picking on a kid. "Sorry mate, truly. Hey, look at it this way. You're obviously doing something right since your colleagues actually like you while mine wouldn't care if I passed out in a ditch." He gave him a smirk again, before going to leaning back on his chair quietly.

Aaron was becoming impatient, as the rest of his team, and tried once more to get the conversations back on track. He stood up to address the room.

"I'd like to move this briefing along if everything is okay with that. It is nice to meet each of you, but I hope you could be slightly more professional while we get all the information necessary and whilst working on this case. We strongly appreciate your help, but you are now co-members of an FBI team that works solely on some of the most disconcerting and dangerous criminals. It is a race against the clock to save lives every time we work – and we want you to take that into consideration while you work along side us."

Everyone's attention was now on Hotch. The room's feel changed dramatically, as an air of seriousness loomed over them all. Cobb felt guilty for not controlling some of his team members more, but generally felt relieved now. He could tell that even Eames held some respect for Aaron and his leadership abilities.

"Thank you. JJ, begin the briefing please." Hotch sat down and Rossi smiled while nodding his head to the over team. Hotch looked over and saw the way he got them to respond. At least he knew now he could control them.

"Okay, well yes my name is Jennifer, you can call me JJ. I sent over reports on the unSub, Jake Spagelli. I can assume you all read it?" She continued as everyone she asked nodded their heads. "It's not common that this team works with non-law enforcement, thus if you have any questions about terminology we use or confusion with the case, please ask any of us. We will be as accommodating as possible."

"Since they all read the file, can we please ask some questions first about this whole "inception" thing?" Morgan opened up after JJ had finished. "I mean, without actually knowing how this works or even if it is possible, how do we know which methods we use or information we have is useful in this respect."

"Thank you! Please tell us more." Garcia piped up again, smiling at Derek for the opening but he didn't return the smile this time. So far, he was not impressed with these people, and he highly mistrusted the act they were going to perform.

"Well what would you like to know in particular?" Cobb began.

"You all named what you did in respect to your team, but how exactly does each method of this work as a whole and separately." Prentiss asked before Garcia got to ask questions that were more personal rather then work related. She realized she would do that on her own time, and not push Hotch further with needless interruptions.

Eames laughed again. He quickly backtracked noticing the looks he was getting from the team. "No disrespect mame, I just laughed at the can of worms you just opened up. There is going to be a lot more explanation than you probably anticipated with that question." He smiled kindly at her, hoping she wouldn't take out her cuffs this time. Eames knew he was probably on his last leg.

"As much as I don't like it, he's right. There are many layers to our line of work." Arthur began, he looked over at Cobb to see if he could get the rights to continue. When Cobb nodded he began.

"If we were just going into one level of a dream, this would be a much less complicated explanation and process. Also, our field of work is normally extraction, not inception. Extracting is exactly what it is defined as. The removal of something. In this case, it's your secrets. On a subconscious level, we all store secrets or important information in a kind of safe or vault you could say. We were usually hired to go into a dream of someone's, and retrieve this information."

"So stealing?" Rossi asked blatantly. When he saw Arthur and Yusuf shift uncomfortably whilst Ari nodded simply he laughed inwardly. He wanted to know which of the teams were afraid of them as FBI agents. "So how does inception differ?"

Cobb began to take over. "Well, inception was not even believed to be possible, and still there are people who question it in our field. There have only been two known times it was successful and only one publicly known. I was apart of both of them, one being with this team."

"So we are suppose to trust that you are right in knowing it is even possible." Derek responded, trying not to sound rude. Luckily, Reid had the same query.

"Yes, I find it slightly disconcerting that there is not enough controlled studies proving its validity as a useable method."

"Well there aren't many people who know about this line of work in the first place since it isn't what you'd call legal. Plus you can't really get many people to go 'okay go poking around in my head to plant something in there' can you?" Eames said in response.

"Not to mention the fact that it is highly dangerous and extremely difficult. Not many want to play with the risk and odds." Yusuf added, obviously speaking from experience.

"So how does it differ exactly? You didn't say extraction was dangerous or difficult." Morgan continued to probe.

"Well not for this team. We could do extraction in our sleep, excuse the obvious irony." Arthur laughed.

Cobb smiled at Arthur. "Yes he's right, extraction is not an issue. Inception though, is the act of planting an idea in someone's mind whilst in the dreaming state. Not only is it difficult because of the amount of re search necessary to make it believable and detailed, so it will actually stick, but the method of which to do it includes different levels of dream state."

"Are you insinuating a dream within a dream?" Spencer looked awestruck. His mind was working away at all the possibilities.

"Well, actually – a dream within a dream within a dream. Three dream states, and about three hundred times more intricate." Arthur stated.

"Then how is it even possible?" Reid continued to question as he wracked his brain for answers.

"Well see, when we go into the dream there are many different components. First there is the architect, which is what Ari does. She builds the dreams. The buildings, stop lights, furniture, roads, trees and everything else inanimate. In this case, she will have to build three levels. It takes a lot of work and detail to make sure it is all right and possible." Arthur smiled at Ari before continuing.

"Second, there is the subject. This is the person in which we are taking into the dream. It is there subconscious that fills the dreams. People will fill the dream as well, but they are all projections from the subject's subconscious. The random person you walk by every day to work, or the person who serves you coffee. This person will be Spagelli in this case. Now it's important to note that if Ariadne decides to put a car able to drive up a building, these projections, which are really the subjects subconscious remember, will begin to notice something is wrong and not normal. They will find the intruder, and harm or kill them."

"So essentially, we have to make sure everything is as normal as it would be in real life or his mind will throw us out?" Prentiss asked. Cobb took the liberty of continuing.

"That's pretty much correct. There is much more though. We have the dreamer. Now if you were just going into your own dream for recreational purposes, you would be both the dreamer and the subject. In work related instances, the dreamer builds the dream while the subject populates it with those projections, simply because it is impossible for us to construct a reality that has enough validity without being the subject."

"But I thought you said the architect builds the dream." Morgan asked. Before Cobb had time to answer, Reid did it for him.

"Well not all architects have to be dreamers though right. And not all dreamers have the ability to build a reliable and intricate enough dream if they don't actually understand architecture. So it would only make sense that a team would need a mind intelligent and skilled enough to fill that position if they want to be successful."

"Thanks for the compliment." Ariadne smiled after Reid's small rant. "And just to clarify, when the dreamer isn't the architect as well, which in this case it won't be, they will be taught everything to do with the work but they also can still change the landscape, although advisably in this case you shouldn't. And usually it is only the dreamer that will get to see the actual architecture of its dream, even if there are others going with them."

"Why's that?" Reid continued to question.

"That is another snag in the whole method. Normally every dream that is built has some secret paths or escape routes. Not only the dreamer who knows them can access them, but sometimes if there is a violent enough haunt in that dreamer's past, or the others going under – it can access the dream as well and they will know all that you do about the dreams construction. A lot of the time, it will try to sabotage, and remember that if it makes itself obvious to the subject's projections, it can become dangerous fast." Ari finished. She looked a little uncomfortable now, knowing she was really talking from experience with Cobb and Mal.

Everyone sat quietly for a minute as they began to think about what was just talked about. There was so much information just thrown at Hotch and his team, they weren't quite sure what to do with it. And slowly, each one was starting to really understand one of the real dangers with these dreams, yet they were avoiding asking. It was the first time Spencer was absolutely silent since they got there.

A slightly nervous Prentiss spoke up first. She tried not to show how worried she was, since there were some things even her team didn't know.

"Are you guys worried about us? Since some of us could have dealt with things not normal to the people you bring into dreams." She tried to avoid saying all the things that her and her colleagues could bring along.

"To be honest, yes. We know you guys have seen and been through some devastating and haunting things. You must remember to control your mind – because it is the most unsafe place to fall into."

Cobb was more worried now than he was before. If these people caught on to the fact that they had dangers they could bring along, then it was worse than he thought. He was hoping they wouldn't fear this part of the journey as much as he thought they would, thus resulting in obvious safety within their minds. Yet he could tell by most of their faces, that they had demons at the forefront of their thoughts.

"You know, you are going into a dream with a serial killer – what happens if one of you gets hurt within the dream?" Garcia asked worried.

"Getting hurt still feels like its hurting no matter what level. So it's uncomfortable or painful but you aren't physically injured in reality. But when it comes to getting fatally injured, that's where the biggest danger comes in. In just a one level dream, you use much weaker sedatives, so dying in the dream actually just wakes you up. But with the amount of drugs, and levels we have to go under – if you die, you go into limbo."

"What's limbo and how do you know?" Rossi asked while his other team mates looked slightly ill or frightened.

"It's a place of shared consciousness, where it is easy to lose yourself in its false reality. It is so damaging to your mind, you forget what used to be your life and begin to lose yourself to it. The only way to leave it, is to kill yourself.. but that is if you are able to remember that. And if you are lucky, you will remember after decades." Cobb spoke solemnly. He had way to much experience with this subject. "And I know because I've been there before. Twice."

"But then how are we supposed to wake up if it will do that to us?" Rossi asked this time, trying to avoid another lull of silence with everyone in their own head. Right now they needed facts, and to deal with the dangers when planning.

"Its something called a kick. Like when you fall out of bed. Like this—" Eames quickly pulled Arthur's chair back again but this time he didn't catch himself. The room suddenly felt lighter as Cobbs' team laughed along with some of the others.

"I swear Eames, one more time and you won't have hands to do that with." Arthur grumbled as he dusted himself off and sat back down in his chair, but this time, on the other side of Ari. "Well continue, if you wanted to explain to them then you might as well talk about the multiple kicks."

Eames mumbled something about public speaking before getting back to his explanation. "Okay well, normally it would be as simple as that to wake someone up… but when your in a dream within a dream within – well you get it… so you need a kick on each level cause the sedatives are so strong. And they have to happen all at the same time. There you happy?"

"You forget about the time change! Or is that because you can't do the math." He said back while hiding behind Ari. She decided to finish this question while Eames continued to try and swat Arthur.

"To put it as simply as possible, five minutes in reality make one hour in the first level. Making that a ratio of twelve to one. But under the sedatives, it's a twenty to one ratio. And by each level it is multiplied by twenty again. Thus 10 minutes in reality makes 200 minutes on a first level – we will be going down to a third."

Before Ari was able to take a breath Reid chimed in another time, ignorant to his effect on the new comers.

"And then 4000 minutes, or 66.66 hours on the second and 80,000 or 1333.33 hours, which converts to 55.5 days on the third level. That's amazing!"

"It truly is kid." Eames said sincerely while finally getting a swat in on Arthur.

"But then how do you expect to fully synchronize the "kicks" as you call them, if there is such a drastic time change. It's surely not impossible to do the calculations. But to know when the first one will happen indefinitely, so you can properly communicate it with the others must be highly improbable without some kind of signal."

This time it was Hotch's team that laughed at Reid's excited nature.

Morgan added, "I don't suppose a simple cell phone would work either." He rolled his eyes, knowing that it was probably more complicated than that, and that he probably won't understand it.

"Well actually, it's almost as simple. One person stays back in each layer, and ten seconds before the first kick they will turn on music on headphones that have been placed on each of us whilst we sleep. You will hear it through each layer so on the second, the second person that stays back will know they have roughly three minutes and on the third, about an hour." Cobb laughed at how he noticed Reid mouthing the precise numbers.

The group continued to question each other – but realized quickly that they were not going to be able to get enough information on either's field in one sitting. There was work for the FBI profilers to be doing in the meantime, and Cobb's team had to continue to strategize. The next few weeks were going to consist of many meetings and gatherings to being to and finish the development of three very complex dreams filled with a very terrifying mind.

Yet, despite the rocky start to the meshing of the teams, they seamed to be able to work well together.

At the end of the meeting, when everyone began to leave – one guy couldn't help but say one more thing.

"You know Dr. Reid," Eames began. "I've had many Doctors, and really they are eejits. I reckon you deserve a better title."

"Eejit?" JJ said under her breath in confusion to Garica.

"It's a common slang used in the UK which means idiot. It actually derives from Anglo-Irish pronunciation of the word idiot."

"My point exactly." Eames laughed as he gave Reid thumbs up.

**Okay so all my research has led me to the best findings I could, with the energy I'm willing to exhast on math equations, to what the best conversions are for each levels under sedatives. Please don't comment if I'm wrong, cause I'd rather not go through it again lol. Just try to enjoy the story otherwise. **


	3. Of Secrets and Doubts

**Quick A/N: I'm sorry if I gave the impression that this was an extraction mission – but I've went through the first chapter and edited what may have insinuated that. This has always been, and will be, an inception mission. And thanks everyone for the feedback – it really makes my day.**

Of Secrets and Doubts

_Dreams are excursions into the limbo of things, a semi-deliverance from the human prison. ~Henri Amiel_

Spencer was pacing back and forth from his desk to Emily's, fidgeting with two balls in one of his long hands. He was muttering under his breath and breathing short and shallow. Emily looked quizzically over to Derek, who just shrugged in response, but took it upon himself to snap the young genius out of it.

"Hey, kid! Did you sleep at all last night?"

Spencer turned sharply and faced Derek front and center, only faltering slightly before taking a seat at his desk.

"Possibly…" He responded rather sheepishly. His hand started moving more vigorously as he rotated the balls within his palm. Derek chuckled.

"You were too excited to sleep, weren't you?" He probed. But Spencer ignored his jeers and continued to mutter, all the while thinking rapidly.

"What are those things you're playing with?" Emily spoke up, giving Derek another knowing look. After the meeting yesterday, Spencer just couldn't get his head in the game. Well, of course he was able to ramble off stats and answer any question with speed and accuracy. But his usual nature of questions and curiosity had gone out the window.

"Baoding Balls." He stated simply.

Emily raised her eyebrow before sighing in defeat. Yet, Derek wasn't as submissive as her.

"Paging Dr. Reid. You've got to explain a little more thoroughly for us simpletons." This time he stood up to go over to where Spencer was sitting and quickly snatched the balls out of his hand.

"They are Chinese exercise balls. They are meant to improve manual dexterity and strength within the hand, by rotating a pair of them. The usual method is to begin with a smaller set of balls and slowly make your way up to the largest, thus most difficult, pair. They are also called Chinese Mediation balls, which denotes to the idea that they are a method of calming."

At the end of his explanation, he swiftly stood up and snatched the "meditation balls" back from his team member before walking away to grab a cup of coffee.

Something was really off with Spencer Reid.

* * *

"It's too bloody early for this." Eames muttered while taking his coffee from Yusuf, who continued to pass a few more to the back of the car. The whole team was driving to the FBI headquarters, only to make a quick pit stop at a Starbucks after Eames' many disgruntled comments of needing caffeine.

"We heard you the first hundred times." Arthur mumbled before he took a gratifying sip from his green tea.

Yusuf thanked the Barista kindly before putting the car back in drive and setting out on the road. Cobb sat in the front seat beside him whilst Ari, Arthur and Eames sat in the back. Already, Cobb could tell it was going to be another testing day.

Last night the team had stayed up until the wee hours of the morning, planning and researching as much as they could. They had stumbled across a few disturbing finds which only made the idea of this inception all the more difficult.

"So when are we going to pull the girl aside?" Ariadne questioned, changing the topic back to something more productive then complaining and bickering.

"The right opportunity I suppose, being that we aren't sure whether it is appropriate to talk about in front of the others." Arthur responded, gaining a nod from Cobb.

"Do you think she ever planned to tell us?" Yusuf asked, looking at Eames in the rear view mirror. They all were quiet while Eames contemplated this.

"I highly doubt that." He finally answered. "She doesn't know too much about our team, therefore not knowing the accessibility I had to Interpol. Sneaky little lass isn't she."

* * *

Emily followed Spencer over to the coffee machine, with Derek closely in toe.

"Reid, are you okay? You've been acting jumpy and on edge since the meeting yesterday." She asked once in earshot.

Emily knew that the whole team had a different feel after they had talked to Cobb and his members yesterday. She knew her mind was elsewhere, worrying about these "projections" she could bring along into the dream world. It made her even more nervous since she knew that her past was still secret to her FBI family. But, she had been dealing with the idea of it better then Reid seemed to be.

"It's nothing." He responded quietly, eyeing Derek before shifting his gaze towards the ground.

"What is it kid?" Derek questioned, slightly hurt. He could tell Spencer was avoiding saying something because of him.

"It's an irrational and completely lunatic notion. Thus, I know you'll use it to make fun of me relentlessly." Spencer answered this time with more force. Derek's face softened significantly, feeling guilty for making one of his best friends feel that way about him.

"You're like a little brother to me. You know when I pick on you it's harmless." Derek started, but when he saw Spencer begin to open his mouth in retort, he quickly continued. "Whatever's bugging you, bugs me buddy. I promise not to be immature about it."

Emily looked kindly over to Derek, giving him a look of approval. Spencer topped up his cup of coffee and took a sip before deciding to tell them the truth.

"After the meeting, I was excited but still confused. And then this idea sort of took me over. I have read so much on dreams and reality – I just kept running it all over through my head – word by word." He began, looking nervous again. "I just can't seem to find the proof of what reality is. How am I supposed to know that I'm awake?"

It took everything in Derek's power not to pinch Spencer to prove he wasn't dreaming.

* * *

"What about the youngster?" Eames asked his team.

They were getting closer to their destination, using this time in private usefully. The one thing they had still not decided upon was probably the most important aspect of their mission. Who was coming all the way under.

"I reckon he'd be good use." Yusuf said smartly, still rather awestruck by the intelligence of Dr. Reid.

"Yes, but he may be one of the most damaged of the team. And that many levels deep, an extreme risk to all of us." Ariadne added wisely. She always was cautiously thinking about the risks and dangers of the people she, and her team, went under with. Cobb knew this side of her very well.

"That being said, we could say the same about Aaron Hotchner, but I guarantee we wouldn't be able to convince him to stay back while his team went under." Cobb noted, while everyone responded with sounds of agreement. "I know I wouldn't."

"So then we seem to have a real problem here. The three that we need on the third level to succeed in the inception, are the three that can bring along the most dangerous issues." Arthur said rather irritated. He knew this was going to happen. Things never could go smoothly. Or at least, as smoothly as possible in this kind of situation.

They all pondered what Arthur said as they pulled up to the large building and made their way to their new job.

* * *

Emily sat alone at her desk. Derek and she tried their best to explain to Spencer that he was, in fact, awake. Yet, after twenty minutes of the doctor having a rebuttal everything they said with actual theories and facts, they had no clue how to proceed. He was too stubborn and intelligent for his own good.

So now they all sat at their separate desks, pretending to be doing some case-related work, but really just letting their minds wander until the team got there. Which, would be any minute.

Yet Emily was having a more difficult time concentrating on anything but her past. Interpol and Ian Doyle. He was in prison and her team knew nothing of her past as a spy. She knew this for sure because the only person who had the accessibility to find that piece of information out was Garcia, and she would not be able to hold back from talking to Emily about it. Thus, she deduced, and rather correctly, that they were all in the dark.

With this conclusion, she assumed that the other team they'd be working with would be as in the dark as they were. Yet, this was not as correct as her previous assumption. And soon she'd find out.

"Agent Prentiss." Cobb was standing alone at her desk, while motioning her to follow him. Derek and Spencer were heading up to Cobb's other members to greet them before Hotchner and Rossi came to join them. At the moment, they were having a quick meeting for themselves.

* * *

"Rather odd group of people aren't they?" Rossi stated before sitting himself down on Hotch's couch and moving a blanket aside. He looked down at it curiously. "You didn't sleep here last night did you Aaron?"

Hotch was sitting at his desk, pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. Case files were all astray upon his desk and a canister of something, most likely coffee, was sitting to his right.

"This was really a bad idea." He groaned before he stood up and moved himself to the front of his desk. He leaned slightly on the edge of it. "I'm not sure we are going to be able to handle this."

Rossi looked at him in understanding. He knew that Hotch was most likely up all night, going over whatever files he could on Spagelli. He also knew of Hotch's special order for Garcia. Rossi assumed the majority of the files were on their new team members.

"Did you find out anything about them that would be a risk to us?" He asked smartly, gaining a slight smile from Hotch.

"The whole team probably knows I asked for background checks. Shouldn't have expected any different really."

"No." Rossi answered bluntly. "Since we all would have done the same thing."

Hotch stood up a straight again before looking out the window of his office. He could see his other three agents over at their desks. He noticed Reid was still pacing.

"How do you think they are going to handle all of this?" Hotch asked honestly. After Gideon had left, he never thought he would be able to find someone else as seasoned or perceptive as his former boss. But, Rossi soon filled that position with grace and a new kind of flare. The man knew people, and thankfully, he knew this team.

"They're strong Aaron. You've never failed with them before. Why doubt yourself now?" Rossi stood up now too to take a look out the window. Emily and Derek were now following Spencer over to the coffee machine. Where Reid spent the majority of his time. His gaze fell onto Emily's face.

"She's hiding something." Rossi said, very sure of himself.

"I know. But it's not our business to probe David." Hotch answered with a stern look before closing the blinds and going back to his desk. "Let us get back to why I asked you in here."

* * *

He walked her to the back of the room, avoiding any people who could over hear. He knew this would be a sensitive subject.

"May I ask what you need from me Mr. Cobb?" When he responded with a laugh, Emily looked confused but stood her ground with poise.

"No need for that Agent Prentiss, you can call me Cobb – or Dom if you prefer." Cobb looked at her kindly and she relaxed whence realizing the reasons to his laughter.

Yet, she noticed his change in demeanour as he straightened his back and took a step closer to her, He put his head down before beginning to speak in a hushed voice.

"We brought up yesterday, something about what we can share with other dreamers Agent Prentiss. Do you remember this?"

She nodded and swallowed slightly before opening her mouth to speak, but he put a finger to his lips to signal her to stop.

"Before you object, I'd like to point out that we have no purpose in meddling in others' businesses. Therefore, it is your own responsibility to do with your past what you may." He stopped to see if she had any objections to what he was saying, but her look of understanding prompted him to continue. "Your team will be informed later today about how important you are to our proposed plan. So I am warning you now, please be aware and conscious of your subconscious. It is far too dangerous a risk to be lacking in control when it comes to the matters of dreams."

"What roll do you have for me to play?" She asked incredulously, getting hung up on the least important thing he had said.

"Patience Agent Prentiss. You'll know in a matter of minutes. But do not neglect to listen to what we tell you." Cobb finished by putting a hand on her shoulder comfortingly before walking away calmly to rejoin the, now complete, team. He extended his hand to Aaron, before continuing this greeting with the rest of them.

"Are we ready to proceed?" Hotchner asked as soon as everyone had finished pleasantries.

Eames looked over to a subdued Emily – and winked.

* * *

"Why inception?"

Derek had decided to ask the first question as soon as the meeting was underway. It had been bothering him since getting all the information last night.

"What else would you propose Agent Morgan?" Arthur responded, knowing full well what he was going to say.

"We need to learn things from him, not plant something in his head. Shouldn't it be an extraction?"

Cobb looked at Arthur, slightly humoured, but masked it well. They had talked about this earlier, and it seemed they gave a bit too much credit to the team. They thought they'd find the flaws with an extraction when it came to this specific unSub. Or maybe they didn't know enough information about their specific line of work to get a clear picture. Arthur took the liberty to do this for them.

"With the information we have received from your team, is it right to say that the unSub's traits consist of being a highly organized anger excitation rapist and pathological liar with psychopathic and sadistic tendencies?"

Eames looked at Arthur in confused.

"And here I was just calling him a royal git."

Arthur ignored his comment before going back to what he was saying, this time, looking more at Dr. Reid than anyone. "So do you see a problem with trying to extract information?"

Derek looked slightly confused, as he slowly worked out what that would mean in his head. Suddenly, the light when off and he realized where the issue lies. But, of course, Spencer had already gotten there.

"Pathological liars frequently confuse fact and falsehoods and have proven to be inconsistent in their responses during controlled studies. It is unknown if pathological lying is controllable by the entity, thus it is highly probable that a pathological liar may believe his lies to the point that he is delusional." Spencer hummed off without much acknowledgement of the others in the room.

"I was going to say that." Derek said under his breath. "Know it all."

"I highly doubt you would have said it like that though Morgan." Emily laughed before retreating back into her previous position from the look he gave her.

"Rein it in dark chocolate. You've got the beauty, give Reid the brains." Garcia joked while giving him a reassured pat on the knee.

"Are you saying I'm unattractive?" Spencer snapped out of his thoughts, giving Garcia a confused look.

"In retrospect, giving Morgan the brawns would have been a better choice Penelope." JJ chimed in, winking at her friend.

"So now you're saying I'm lacking muscle." Spencer responded with a defiant tone before realizing what he had just said. "Well I like being the brains."

Both Rossi and Hotch looked at each other and smiled, enjoying the brief moment of humour.

"So," Hotch began, regaining everyone's attention. "You are saying that because Spagelli is a pathological liar, you can't extract information?"

"No we can extract information, but the issue would be to actually decipher what is fact. And frankly, we don't have the time or leniency to make mistakes with the information that we'd extract. Your boss may have brought us here, but she warned us that if we don't get it right the first time – there'd be no point in trying to put him away with those charges. With a good defence attorney – and no physical evidence – it won't matter if we find that he is guilty. We still have nothing to link him to it." As Cobb answered Hotch's question, he noticed their faces drop slightly. He could tell that they had some kind of wishful thinking of an easier mission.

But if there was an alternative, they would have thought of it.

"So then, what's your plan?" Emily asked the loaded question, ready to hear what she had been waiting for since her ominous talk with Cobb.

"Well we need dreamers. I can't start building until I have the dreamers to collaborate with." Ariadne pointed out.

"And I need better access to information on Spagelli, because Ari can't start building until we find out the majority of that information. Like blue prints of his house?" Arthur continued, looking at the analyst as he asked this.

"After the meeting you can set up in my office sweetie. I can get you anything your heart desires." She smiled sweetly before getting out a big blue pen with a fuzzy pink palm palm on the top. She began to write down notes.

"Yes, and I'll need somewhere to start setting up my lab. I've got a few ideas for specific compounds that will make the dreamers connections clearer than ever before, since so many are going under to the deeper levels." Yusuf said hopefully, yearning for some kind of FBI laboratory he could work in.

"So who are the dreamers?" Emily asked again, trying to get the conversation to move in the direction she wanted it to.

Cobb's team looked at each other, contemplating what part of the plan to start with. They knew it would end up in some kind of disagreements.

"We talked to you guys yesterday, about things you can bring into the dream world." Cobb began. "Well, there are a few issues in that respect. Some of you are, less of a risk, then others. Therefore, those people would be the safest to bring down to the lower levels. Ms. Jareau and Ms. Garcia will not be coming under in any respects. They will be there to watch over our sleeping selves and make sure it runs smoothly in reality."

"So does that mean the rest of us are coming under?" Spencer asked curiously.

"Yes, but – not everyone will be coming down to the final level. The first level, Yusuf will be staying behind to give the kick. As he told you yesterday, he does not like to partake in actual dream sharing, so he will stay at the highest level. Now the second level, we have decided that it must be one of you who stay behind to administer the kick. We need as many of us down at the third level, to make sure things go smoothly."

"This is, of course, you're decision… but we ask if Agent Prentiss could not stay on the upper levels, since our plan revolves around her." Cobb finished, waiting for the looming question to be asked.

"Why do you need her?" Hotchner spoke up first, feeling protective of his team.

"You'd be the bait darling." Eames answered first, but he spoke only to Emily – with a sympathetic look. She stared back at him, slightly fearful but with determination.

"Absolutely not." Hotchner responded bluntly. "I will not use one of my team as bait to a sadistic murderer, no matter what Strauss wants of me."

The rest of the team looked either angry or terrified.

"There has to be another way." Garcia said pleadingly.

"I assure you, unless you are withholding any information about Jake Spagelli… there isn't." Arthur responded solemnly.

"I highly doubt that. I'm sorry, but we aren't going to need your services anymore." Hotchner said aggressively before standing up to show the team out.

"I'm sorry we've offended you." Cobb looked at Emily knowingly before standing up to leave the room.

"Wait Hotch." Emily said quickly, as she stood up to close the now opened door. "If this is the way to get the bastard, I'd feel horrible if I didn't do it." She spoke only to Hotch. "Please hear them out."

Hotch let out a deep breath before moving back over to his seat and sitting down, his fingers going back to pinching the bridge of his nose like so many time he had over the last few days. He waved his hand signalling to continue before lifting his head up to listen.

Cobb breathed in a sigh of relief. The storm seemed to pass for now.

"The files have stressed that there is no physical evidence of Spagelli linking him to the murders. It also said that your team had trailed him after this, and even after you had left, the local police task force has been doing the same. Even though you all believe he has the means and ability to shake his tail, he hasn't. What does this tell you?" Cobb asked the team, trying to get them to understand the gravity of their choice.

"It means," Prentiss started. "he isn't planning to kill until he is out from under our eye."

"Exactly, so how are you supposed to catch the bloody bastard?" Eames responded quickly, seeing as Emily was catching on.

"He needs to come out of retirement." She said clearly. She furrowed her brow in confusion. "But I won't be enough to do that will I. If we've learned anything about this unSub, it's that he is very patient and intelligent. If he doesn't want to go to jail, he won't do anything to incriminate himself. Why would he risk his livelihood for one woman?"

"Ah but see, that's where inception comes in." Cobb spoke up. "Once the idea is planted well enough, it will be impossible to ignore."


End file.
